LibGuides: Online Learning & Enrichment Resources: Recreation & Family Resources

Virtual Library Programs

Many Rhode Island Libraries are hosting virtual programs through Facebook, Zoom, YouTube and other services for all ages. Programs include online storytimes and crafts, book discussions, and lectures.

RI Library Calendar

Find Your Library

Your local library may have additional resources that you can access. Visit your local library's website to see what other resources may be available to you.

Find your local library

Entertain the Kids

Looking for fun and enriching activities for your children? Visit the Early Childhood and Elementary pages for art, music, movement and more!

Complete Your Census!

Check your mail for information about filling out the 2020 census form. Filling out the census is easy, safe and important, and will only take about 10 minutes.

Complete your census

Reading

Ocean State Libraries eZone
Use your RI library card to access eBooks and audiobooks on your personal devices. Includes materials in Spanish. If you don't have a Rhode Island public library card or your card has expired, you can renew or apply for a library card online through Ocean State Libraries.
NoveList
Novelist provides information on 155,000 fiction titles and a wide range of content to help library staff to serve fiction readers of all ages. Includes author read-alikes, book discussion guides, reading lists and more.
Flipster
Flipster offers an easy, browse-able reading experience. Users can browse magazines by category as well as perform searches for specific periodicals. An online newsstand provides a carousel of the most recent issues, as well as a carousel of all issues allowing for quick access to magazines. The table of contents contains links for quick access to articles of interest and hotlinks within magazines are hyperlinked, opening in separate tabs when clicked. In addition, there is an option to zoom in and out for better readability.

Mulitmedia Services

Hoopla
Check your local library for availability. Hoopla is a web and mobile library media streaming platform for audio books, comics, e-books, movies, music, and TV. Hoopla allows library patrons to download or stream media content.
Kanopy
Check with your local library to see if access is available. Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform that offers films and documentaries.
Internet Archive - Movies
A collection of freely available, streaming movies - many in the Public Domain
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, many of which are in the eBook versions of titles in the public domain.

Go Outside

50 Nature-Based Activities for Rhode Islanders
RI Department of Environmental Management developed a list of 50 fun, nature-based activities that Rhode Islanders can engage in at home or in their backyards, or local neighborhoods. Activities are for all ages and can be done individually or with family members. The complete list is available online in both English and Spanish, and includes apps and virtual learning opportunities, reading and educator resources, DIY and home projects, and outdoor activities.

Visit a Museum

Virtual Tour: The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Guggenheim Museum, New York (Spiral Staircase)
Tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase From there, you can discover works of art from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary eras.
National Gallery of Art - Washington D.C.
Two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.
Uffizi Gallery - Florence, Italy
Houses the art collection of one of Florence, Italy’s most famous families, the de'Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de'Medici

Arts and Culture

Providence Athenaeum Archived Programs
Enjoy Athenæum programs at home. Visit their Soundcloud page for recordings of past salons.
NPR Podcasts
Berlin Philharmonic
Redeem the voucher code BERLINPHIL by 31 March and receive free access to all Berlin Philharmonic concerts and films in the Digital Concert Hall.
Metropolitan Opera
Beginning 3/16/20 and continuing each day for the duration of the Met’s closure, an encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD Opera series will be made available from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 3:30 p.m. the following day.
The Guide to Lifelong Learning | DPLA
Digital Public Library of America connects users to digitized resources from cultural institutions across America. This guide will help you explore your favorite topic, or find a new one!
Providence Public Library Digital Collections
This website showcases the digital collections of the Providence Public Library.

Learn a Language

Mango Languages
Online language-learning program that can help you learn more than 70 foreign languages in an easy-to-learn manner. Mango Languages for Libraries also offers English as a Second Language courses for non-English speakers. Library card number required to track progress.

Fix Your Car

Auto Repair Source
Powered by the automotive experts at MOTOR, Auto Repair Source provides the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls.

Make Something

Instructables
Instructables is a website specializing in user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects. Categories include: circuits, workshop, craft, cooking, living, outside and teachers.
Pinterest